Math

Yeah, honestly they are on the good track and St-Louis is a good fit with a good philosophy (my God... what am I writing...). Montembault can be a good #1 in the foreseeable future. Their defense is still awful and they lack depth, that's why they will be dead last in their stacked division; not because they are worse but because their direct opponents got significantly better. About the Yotes, book it, they will be in the postseason as a wild card team. I'm high on Vejmelka, their blue line has gotten much better with Durzi and Dumba who is looking for a redemption year. I really like the mix between young guns like Keller, Hayton, Maccelli and Cooley; and physical vets in Zucker, Bjugstad, McBain. Plus Crouse and Schmaltz who can be big offensive contributors. Not to mention that Tourigny is a very skilled coach.

Fixt !

Except in Montréal.

Give it time, the future looks bright. The Sabres locked their two top Dmen of the future, one being one of the best in the League. You have a very strong 1C/2C spine in Thompson and Cozens, Levi has the shoulder and the talent to become a top goalie, Tuch is one of the most efficient and underrated player in the League. The core and foundation are there and locked. Of course, the road is and will be bumpy but there's plenty to look forward to.

And Werenski maybe back on LTIR...

I watched the game and it was as expected: typical early season game with lots of offense and brain farts. Of course, Montréal folks are already whining on how they deserved so much to win and how this Leafs team has absolutely no depth and will never go past the first round... But there's that: The Canadiens played with no pressure and capitalized as much as they could. Toronto was bad, they offered three goals on a silver plate to the Habs, Samsonov (despite some good saves) was atrocious. Despite that, the Leafs dominated most of the game and managed to rally and win it after shooting themselves in the foot a couple of times. The margin of progression is huge and the gap between those two teams is absolutely enormous.

Seems to be the new norm to give big fat contracts to young Dmen that still haven't proven anything. So Power gets a 7-yr/$8+ AAV for having scored... six goals in his entire carrer so far. Ok I'm simplifying and provoking a bit here but where the Dahlin deal is a very good one for both the Swede and the Sabres, this one is a bit more doubtful. I understand the organization to be quite in a hurry to lock down longterm their two top Dmen in the future but I'm really not sold on Power and this deal might turn into a Nurse/Jones one. Again, time will tell...

The 5 mins + game misconduct are deserved IMO. That's typically what the League wants to get rid of. But Tanev's ankle and knee took a massive and ugly twist while he was falling down.

Maybe too early to tell, but Jarvis is heading of being a bust. I don't feel he can step up and become a regular scorer. I picked Carolina because they have the best defense IMO. Adding Orlov and DeAngelo for your third pair is quite a luxury. Yes, they lack grit and toughness and that why they brought Lemieux and hope for Svechnikov to be healthy for the whole season.

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS -- I'm going with the Hurricanes. They will finally make it after years being in the discussion. DIVISION WINNERS -- Toronto, Edmonton, Rangers, Colorado. FIRST COACH FIRED -- I'm going with DJ Smith if Ottawa doesn't show the high hopes in this team. Otherwise, Rick Bowness for the reasons mentioned by @yave1964 NORRIS WINNER -- Makar. This thophy is offense-first minded and Heiskanen will never be spectacular at the point of grabbing this award. HART WINNER -- McDavid, no brainer IF NOT MCDAVID, WHO WINS THE HART? Matthews, who will propel the Leafs to the western Conference final VEZINA WINNER -- Sorokin will create the surprise CALDER TROPHY -- Bedard, no brainer IF NOT BEDARD? I put a coin on Levi, or Cooley whose Coyotes will qualify for the playoffs SELKE TROPHY -- If the Devils maintain their progression, Hischier is a legit choice. LADY BING TROPHY -- Yeah, no one gives a sh** about it. OVECHKIN TOTAL GOALS -- 33 DOES THE OVER THE HILL GANG IN THE IGLOO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? -- Yup, they missed them by one point, this year they will make it by one point with the help of a rejuvinated Jarry. DO EITHER OF LAST YEARS CUP FINALISTS MAKE THE FINAL FOUR? -- Nope. I have Stars vs. Vegas and Toronto vs. Carolina WORST RECORD IN THE GAME THIS YEAR -- I deeply want Montréal but it will be between San Jose and Chicago.

I guess both Scheifele and Hellbuyck have been given the insurance that Bowness is gone after the upcoming season. Scheifele's deal is good -- he's the face of the franchise --. On the other hand, as good as Hellebuyck is, giving him a 7-year deal (by extension, to any goalie goalie in general) is a mistake and the Jets might regret it.

Did Ehlers have his eyes in his butt? Besides that, I'd buy the interference call but nothing more. If you're coherent, Trouba would've been suspended with his hit on Toffoli too. But why making that kind of play in the preseason? If you're a kid trying to make your room, yeah maybe. Otherwise...

Or the Canes' front office know that both Andersen and Rantaa will be injured at the same time, then they put them both on IR, clearing space and Kotchetkov gets the starting nod, and Waddell will be seen as a true genius.

I could've written the same exact message The dust is settling, hope it's the same in your household.

1. Edmonton 2. Las Vegas 3. Los Angeles 4. Seattle 5. Calgary 6. Vancouver 7. Anaheim 8. San Jose Edmonton is too talented to miss the division title. I'm curious about how the Flames will rebound and I agree: the Sharks will fight with Chicago for the highest odds in the 2024 draft lottery.

1. NY Rangers 2. Carolina 3. New Jersey 4. Pittsburgh 5. NY Islanders 6. Washington 7. Philadelphia 8. Columbus That's a tough one. Coin flip to select the Rangers as the division winner. Pittsburgh and the Isles in the ballot to sneak in the playoffs. I don't believe in Washington getting into.

1. Toronto 2. Florida 3. Tampa 4. Ottawa 5. Detroit 6. Boston 7. Buffalo 8. Montréal The not-to-be-true bold prediction is a serious downtrend of the Bruins who the loss of huge pieces. Ottawa and Detroit are significantly improved teams. Any yeah, except Montréal, all the other teams have a legit chance to aim the postseason.

1. Colorado 2. Dallas 3. Minnesota 4. Nashville 5. Arizona 6. Winnipeg 7. St-Louis 8. Chicago My gut feeling is that Arizona will surprise and despite Bedard, Chicago will still be godawful. Nashville is a hidden card, I really don't know what to expect from them.

Second preseason win against the Wild, 6-1. The score itself doesn't really matter, the Stars rested Hintz, Öttinger, Johnston, Heiskanen, Suter, Steel, Harley, Smith and Dell'Andrea while Minnesota played without most of their top players. Wedgewood had a good outing, good mentions to Stankoven (2 assists), Bourque and Lundkvist. It will be still tough to earn a spot with the big team when the season begins but they countinue to show that they can become legitimate NHL players in the future despite their respective size. Lundkvist worked really hard in the gym this summer, gained 15 lbs and showed the best perfomances of the team in physical tests. He plays with more confidence, knows what he can bring and what he can't bring. Let's see if he can claim back a regular position on the third D pair.

@pilldoc and other managers, I'd ask if you'd like to have the draft time at 8pm EST rather than 7pm. On my side it would fit better but I'll follow the majority if you prefer to stick at 7pm.

I thought it would be good to have a general topic on the Stars' 2023-2024 season here to centralize all discussions on the team, games, players, etc. Yesterday the Stars won their first preseason game, 7-0 against the Coyotes. Like in every kind of games, the score doesn't tell much. The Stars were playing with a mixture of regular NHL players and key prospects while Arizona pretty much put an ECHL team with the current squad being in Australia. So far I really like Stankoven: he's small but he's playing like a tank. Nobody can take the puck out of him. A hard working player with three lungs, he reminds me of Taz, the Tasmanian Devil cartoon. Good mentions to Bourque, Bichsel, Poirier and Seminoff. The team is currently stacked, so they will probably all start in the AHL when the season begins.

STÄNGGELI ! (swiss-german word to describe a 10-0 win)

That's also something that baffles me: He still have a job as of today.

It's not a problem to be an àsshole, but you have to be a classy àsshole.

Yeap, 4:30am on the last call closing bar with all lights on, both were desperately trying to find a dancing partner to solve their respective issues and they finally fall on each other. Montréal managed to dump DeSmith as they are already loaded with goalies and Vacouver got a reliable back-up goalie while clearing space.